Best Ever--Tight-Ends Edition

We're doing this each week to get us through the Spring/Summer doldrums. Monday I'll set the position and let you all submit names for consideration. After a couple of days, I'll take your nominations and create a poll thread to open up the voting as well as a more pointed debate, with a CougarCorner winner being crowned each Sunday evening.



This week = the tight-ends---who do you think is in the conversation for best ever? Only TWO can make the all-time team!

In my opinion the order would go like this:



Dennis Pitta

Johnny Harline

Chad Lewis

Chris Smith

Itula Mili

Daniel Coats

Clay Brown

Andrew George

Doug Jolley

Wow! This might be the hardest one, besides QB. So many top athletes to choose from.

Consensus All-American Gordon Hudson, anyone?

My top three would be Chad Lewis, and Dennis Pitta and Itula Mili.

I put Chad Lewis #1. Dude did the best vs. elite competition, and that separates him from the rest. Coates would be #2 right now, followed by Pitta. I suppose I am looking at total body of work, and not just BYU stats, though. If NFL career counts, Todd Christensen wins this one.

Are we taking pro success into consideration at all, or are we strictly focusing on college career?

I think you look at everything, but every user is going to rate college production and nfl production on their own scale.



I also don't include Todd Christensen in my list of best TEs at BYU because he didn't play the position at BYU.

Harline is easily in my top 2. The guy was simply uncoverable, even by the great Eric Weddle.

http://www.byucougars.com/media_guides/football/2010/tradition/tight-end.html



Above link is a good list from the media guide.



People I left off my list that were consensus all-conference players or All-American:



Brian Billick

Gordon Hudson

David Mills

Trevor Molini

Byron Rex

My rankings are weighted towards accomplishments (not just stats) at BYU:



1. Gordon Hudson

2. Chris Smith

3. Dennis Pitta



You forgot to list first-team All-WAC Brian Billick on your list of TEs to choose from...

1. Chad Lewis

2. Dennis Pitta

3. Jonny Harline



I gave Lewis the nod for having a good NFL career and 3 Pro Bowls although I'm pretty sure Pitta and Harline had better college stats. If guitar skills were taken into consideration, Harline would definitely be number 1 :D

Dennis Pitta (totally got robbed when he didn't win the John Mackey Award his senior year)



Harline - I gave him the nod over Chad Lewis because of this picture:



http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx283/tylerdude35/te-harline.jpg" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">



One of the all-time great BYU football photos imho.

Since I have this on my wall in the CougarCorner Cave, I feel that Harline must be one of my selections, but I am so torn on the other.



https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_nAOCDTtaq-o/Tcg19FjuXDI/AAAAAAAAJjE/rnDSRTP1AWg/IMAG0031.jpg" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_nAOCDTtaq-o/Tcg2Cwe3_WI/AAAAAAAAJjU/HXwWrYcQ4r0/s640/IMAG0033.jpg" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

It goes like this:



Dennis Pitta









Everyone else.



If I were to go by my favorite of all time, it would be headed by Chad Lewis because he is simply a stud of a person as well as a player. But there is no comparison. Pitta holds all of BYU's recieving records....as a tight end. He is the best of all time. He was simply robbed of consensus all american honors. How can you lead the NCAA in recieving yards and catches by a TE 2 years in a row and not get consensus AM. Simply robbed.

Chad Lewis makes my list for being a stud receiver, and because of this picture:



http://latterdaysports.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/chad_lewis_leap_BYU.jpg" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">



Oh, and I retract Itula Mili and grant his place to Harline.

Dennis Pitta followed by Gordon Hudson.

frdbtr wrote:
Pitta holds all of BYU's recieving records....as a tight end. He is the best of all time. He was simply robbed of consensus all american honors.

I think the only overall receiving record Pitta holds is most receptions. Even if in arguendo Pitta were the best TE ever based on BYU playing days, I don't think he completely eclipses the likes of Hudson, Smith, or Harline based on performance. A reasonable argument can be made for all four. Lewis and Mili's statistics suffer from being utilized almost equally as receivers (Note: Lewis and Mili would be my top two TEs based on overall body of work).



Hudson

1981: 67 rec, 960 yards, 0 TDs

1982: 67 rec, 928 yards, 6 TDs

1983: 44 rec, 596 yards, 6 TDs (injury shortened)



Smith

1988: 9 rec, 121 yards, 1 TD

1989: 60 rec, 1,090 yards, 5 TDs

1990: 68 rec, 1,156 yards, 2 TDs



Harline

2005: 63 rec, 853 yards, 5 TDs

2006: 58 rec, 935 yards, 12 TDs (21% of his reception were TDs!)



Pitta

2004: 17 rec, 176 yards, 2 TDs

2007: 59 rec, 813 yards, 5 TDs

2008: 83 rec, 1,083 yards, 6 TDs

2009: 62 rec, 829 yards, 8 TDs

Byron Rex @ Hawaii ;)

Ungoy wrote:
Chad Lewis makes my list for being a stud receiver, and because of this picture:



http://latterdaysports.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/chad_lewis_leap_BYU.jpg" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">



Oh, and I retract Itula Mili and grant his place to Harline.

Who's that BYU stud in the back ground putting his all into that block??? Frickin' amazing since that defender most likely wouldn't be catching up to Lewis anyways.



Simply put... Two amazing BYU studs doing their jobs!